Dr. Muhammad Ahsan Mahboob is the Head of Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining Laboratory (DigiMine) at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he spearheads state-of-the-art research in digital mining technologies. With over 10 years of industry and academic experience, Dr. Mahboob has previously served as an Assistant Professor and Director at international academic institutes. His work integrates geospatial technologies, machine learning, and GIS to enhance mining operations and sustainability. An accomplished entrepreneur, Dr. Mahboob is recognized for his innovative contributions to both industry practices and global sustainability efforts in mining.

Alex is a professionally registered mechanical engineer and the Head of Innovation at Sibanye-Stillwater. He has a broad range of experience in engineering, innovation, technology development and adoption, as well as digital transformation. His primary focus in the past 10 years has been on the mining and metals industry. Alex is wholly involved in the South African mining innovation ecosystem as a member of multiple initiatives driven by industry and institutions such as the Minerals Council of South Africa and serves as a strategic advisor to the CSIR. His current focus at Sibanye-Stillwater is on innovation culture and capability and he leads a portfolio of initiatives that include the group’s broader research and development efforts through academia and other partnerships, corporate incubation and development, as well as innovation strategy and culture enablement, amongst others.”

Anthony (Tony) Anyimadu is a Metallurgical Engineer with 31 years post qualification experience spanning diverse geographies, commodities and functional areas. Tony has worked on projects and operations including Africa, Australia, South and North America, and projects in Europe. He got his stripes in the trenches in process engineering plant design, operations, optimization, and management across PGMs, Gold and base metals. In the last decade, Tony has utilized his practical experience gained in the business end of mining and process development in his global roles from lead metallurgical engineer on reviews and due diligence, global head of research and innovation implementation for AngloGold Ashanti, and currently the Amira Head of Africa and global Vice President of Mineral processing, collaborating with over 60 minerals producing and equipment supply companies.
Tony’s passion includes (i) training the emerging professionals to short-circuit the learning curve especially in Africa, example being a past chairman of SAMMRI (South African Mineral to Metal Research Organization in collaboration with the South African government) as well as a current Mineral Advisory Board member of University of Cape Town Chemical Engineering; and (ii) mineral endowment optimization for the benefit of stakeholders, utilizing the body of knowledge and benchmarks including Amira’s 60 years of ongoing global technical collaboration.

Brent joined OPTRON in 2009 and is currently the Regional Sales Manager, based at our head office in Centurion. With a background in instrument service and over 15 years of sales experience, he has played a crucial role in growing OPTRON's sales in the Central Gauteng region. His technical expertise and strategic sales approach have contributed to OPTRON's reputation and success.

Chrisna is an Associate Director in the Smart Mining at PwC. She has has in-depth experience in evaluation of digital technologies and developing business cases and 4IR adoption for mining clients. She has worked in the mining industry for most of her working career and with her extensive project optimisation expertise, IT and mine technical experience she realizes business value while dealing with transformational change for mines.

Conroy started his career as a teacher of physical science in 1990 and pursued a new career in the steel industry from 1997 until 2006. He received steelmaking training at ISCOR, Badische Stahl in Germany and Uddeholm Technology in Sweden and is a co-author of the first paper on mass granulation of liquid iron using the Granshot™ process.
He has been working for Glencore since 2007 starting out as Premus Manager at the Lion Smelter and was General Works Manager at the Lydenburg Smelter until 2018 and is currently the Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer for Glencore Alloys.

Conroy holds a Higher Diploma in Education, an Executive Masters Degree in Business Administration and completed a certificate course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, pursuing his studies in Business Sustainability Strategies focusing on Management and Technology.
Conroy is passionate about people and responsibly leading from a co-created sustainable future.
He loves travelling, playing table tennis and is currently training to complete his private pilot’s license.

Dr Dale Sparrow is the CEO of Cybarete. He started his post graduate research in mechatronics on the integration of humans with modern industrial environments. During his research he created the BASE industrial automation engine, and he decided to further develop BASE as part of his PhD with the goal of commercialisation. He started the spinout company Cybarete, and using BASE has been tackling some of the most difficult automation and digitisation problems in underground mining for the last 3 years.

Elaine leads Sibanye-Stillwater’s Digital Innovation Hub, focusing on building a portfolio of digital transformation initiatives that support the company’s strategic objectives and empower the organisation to deliver value. She has 10 years of experience in mining operations and consulting across multiple commodities and environments. A metallurgical engineer by background, she started her career as a process control and improvement specialist for a global mining company. She later transitioned to consulting, advising mining and metals clients in Southern Africa on operations performance improvement, digital transformation, and strategic partnership negotiations. She’s an experienced project manager and has led multidisciplinary teams to tackle diverse operational and business challenges. Elaine is committed to lifelong learning and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Engineering with a focus on technology and innovation.

Glen Nwaila is the Director of the Wits Mining Institute and Adjunct Professor at the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Glen joined Wits as a postdoctoral candidate in the fall of 2017 and was subsequently appointed an academic staff member in January 2018. Prior to joining Wits, he worked in the mining and consulting industries for 12 years, where he led teams of mining professionals and led audits in the mineral resources and extractive metallurgy plants. At Sibanye Stillwater, Glen led the geology functions in the Driefontein operations. He also served as Manager at Deloitte Technical Mining Advisory. Glen is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar at Uppsala University since 2018. Nwaila completed his PhD with Magna Cum Laude at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg in Germany, MSc. degree in Chemical Engineering (with merit) from the University of Cape Town and an Honours degree in Geology from the University of Johannesburg. He currently serves as one of the 35 IGC Legacy Fund's Board of Directors. He is a Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa (FGSSA). Glen’s research focuses on improving ore characterisation and modelling to enhance selective mineral resource extraction, minimize environmental impacts, increase profitability, and maximise natural resource utilisation. Specifically, Glen and his students work on geometallurgy, machine learning, and spatial data analytics research projects related to multiscale and multivariate data integration, big remote sensing, and geochemical data analysis to enable optimal decision-making in the presence of uncertainty. Glen’s research interests are (1) the genesis and evaluation of ore deposits, (2) machine learning applied to geoscience and extractive metallurgy, (3) metal accounting, and (4) process optimisation in hydrometallurgical plants. The emphasis of his most recent work has been on the impact of digital transformation in the mining industry and the move toward dry labs and data banks for process simulation and gamification.

Hugh Maleka, a South African Mining Engineer, with a decade of versatile experience in Production, Project, and Technology Management within the mining industry. As an Execution Excellence Manager/Technical Services Manager at Ramjack Technology Solutions, he focuses on integrating cutting-edge technology for safer and more efficient mining operations. Hugh's passion lies in fostering autonomous and high-performance mining teams through technology, marking him as a driving force in advancing modern mining practices.

Professor Imraan Valodia is Professor of Economics; Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality; and Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits).
His research interests include: inequality, climate justice, competition policy and industrial
development and employment in developing countries. Professor Valodia played a leading role in establishing and leading Wits University’s Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS). The SCIS is a a multi-disciplinary, cross-country initiative to promote research and policy change to advance greater equality.
Professor Valodia serves on a number of national committees in South Africa, including the Competition Tribunal; the Presidential Economic Advisory Council; the National Minimum Wage Commission; and the Academy of Science of South Africa (Assaf) Standing Committee on Science for the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality.
Internationally, Professor Valodia serves on the following boards: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development(UNRISD); UNAIDS Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics; Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO); and the Global Development Institute.

Jayne is a Chartered Accountant by profession and became involved in the broad areas of corporate governance, sustainable development, and climate change in 2002. Since then, she has worked across a variety of industries including mining, oil and gas, banking, insurance, telecommunications, technology, construction, real estate, and state-owned entities.
Jayne focuses on developing and delivering services in the areas of:
• sustainable development strategy, framework, practices, reporting and assurance,
• Sustainable Development Goals,
• integrated reporting and management,
• social and environment impact and outcomes measurement,
• safety, health and environment risk, performance, and compliance, and
• climate change risk and resilience.

Jayne has written various “thought leadership” articles for publication in the press, presented at numerous conferences, co-authored of The Company Director’s Handbook, and contributed a chapter to SAICA’s Green II. She was a member of the Institute of Directors Sustainable Development Forum, the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa (IRCSA) Board and the NBI’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability. Currently she is a member of the IRCSA Working Group and a member of the King sub-committee on climate change

Justin Westcott holds the position of Chief Technology Officer in DataGr8 and an Honours in Technology (Cum Laude). He spent 10 years in the South African National Defence Force as a military pilot before transitioning to the private sector. His experience in cyber security spreads across the consulting, training, and research domains. His passion for the Cyber Security domain lies in Cyber risk management, Vulnerability Management Maturity, and cyber skills development. His roots in Cyber Security stem from Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, and drone technologies research. He has published a number of research papers in these fields such as those presented at the 12th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security in Washington D.C., USA. His private sector experience ranges to include assisting organizations in assessing Cyber Security postures, maturing vulnerability management processes, quantifying cyber resilience roadmaps, creating security-aware cultures, and mapping best practice frameworks to bespoke training of security specialists by means of facilitated, gamified cyber security training.

Kamal Ravjee is a seasoned ICT executive with over 20 years of experience, currently serving as the SmartMine Business Development Manager and SaaS Account Manager at Schauenburg. With a track record of success in directing operations, leading teams, and driving sales, Kamal has excelled in roles such as Managing Executive, Business Unit and Business Development Manager. His expertise encompasses strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and revenue generation, with notable achievements including exceeding profit targets and earning industry accolades. Kamal's comprehensive background in brand management, channel development, and market research underscores his ability to drive digital transformation and foster long-lasting client relationships. A graduate of Lincoln University with an Honors degree in Business Management and additional certifications from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Stellenbosch University, Kamal is committed to driving innovation and positive change within the ICT sector.

Mogisen Iyer (Mo) has an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering and an MBA from Wits Business School. Mo has over 19 years’ experience in digital transformation, IT/OT convergence and the implementation of emerging technologies such as Cloud, AI, IoT and cybersecurity across a wide variety of industries including mining

Mulundumina Shimaponda-Nawa holds a B.Eng from the Copperbelt University (CBU) in Zambia, M.Ing (cum laude) degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa and a PhD degree in Electrical and Information Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Prior to that, she worked for Airtel Zambia as a Transmission planning engineer and team leader, designing, and optimising the Telco's transport network. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Wits Mining Institute (WMI) in the faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (EBE), at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Her research interests include modernisation of information management systems for the minerals and extractive sector, visible light communications (VLC), powerline communications (PLC), and optical fibre communications (OFC).

Niël Pretorius has two decades of experience in the mining industry. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer designate of DRDGOLD Limited on 21 August 2008 and Chief Executive Officer on 1 January 2009. Niël also serves as an elected Board representative of the Minerals Council South Africa.
Niël initially joined the Company on 1 May 2003 as a legal adviser and was promoted to the position of Group Legal Counsel on 1 September 2004 and then General Manager: Corporate Services on 1 April 2005. Niël was subsequently appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ergo Mining Operations (formerly DRDGOLD SA) on 1 July 2006.
He has been instrumental in implementing several corporate social investment strategies and environmental, educational and rehabilitation policies during his tenure, in line with the Company’s strategy to deploy its resources to maximise economic value through sustainable and responsible mining, while releasing land back to the greater Johannesburg for redevelopment.
One of the Company’s key objectives is to generate a financial return for shareholders by maintaining healthy cash flows. This focus on cash flow has enabled the Company to preserve the value created for stakeholders in the form of dividends for 15 uninterrupted years, making a total distribution of 60 SA cents per share for FY2022.
Under his leadership, DRDGOLD was nominated as the Sunday Times Top 100 Company in South Africa in 2020. DRDGOLD has been ranked in the top 14 companies over the last five years.

Pabalelo is the Operational Excellence Principal in our Mineral Processing division. He is a Process Control and Improvement Engineer by profession, with expertise in Integrated Planning, Inland Export Logistics Execution, and Production Planning. He is also a developer for InfoPath and Microsoft SharePoint and a WITS alumnus.

Pogiso Mthimunye graduated as an Industrial Engineer with a BtechEng (Cum laude) from the University of Johannesburg, a B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Pretoria and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He is currently final-year MBA candidate at the University of Cape Town.
Pogiso is an emerging technology, innovation, and strategy leader with more than 12 years of exposure across the full spectrum of business functions across the mining value chain. His current role is as Innovation Lead for Exxaro Resources’ coal operations in South Africa.
He was named among the top 200 Young People in South Africa in 2023 by the Anglo-American Mail & Guardian Newspaper Top 200 awards. In the same year, he was named among the Top 5 Rising Stars in the South African Mining Industry at the annual TransUnion Rising Star awards.

Robin Drennan has a PhD in Chemistry from Rhodes University focused on pyrotechnic reactions. He has undertaken applied research in a public company, AECI, and a science council, CSIR. He worked at the national funding agency (NRF) where he managed many different programmes. In 2011 he joined the Wits University as Director for Research Development. His role entails leading, encouraging and supporting research across the University. In 2010 Dr Drennan won a Golden Quill award for research reporting, in 2017 a SARIMA award for distinguished contribution to the Research Management Profession and has Senior Research Manager recognition from the IPRC. He is the general secretary fo r the Royal Society of South Africa.

Sietse van Woude has a Master’s degree in radiation physics. As Manager at the National Nuclear Regulator, he was responsible for the establishment of a regulatory framework for radiation protection in mining. He did his MBA with a focus on integrating sustainability issues into the strategy of businesses. He then joined Xstrata as a manager responsible for safety, health, environment, and quality. In 2004 he was appointed as the Head ofSafety and Sustainable Development in the Mineral Council (formerly Chamber of Mines)where he enjoyed being part of the mining industry’s safety and health enhancement
initiatives.

Since 2015 he has served as the Senior Executive: Modernisation and Safety and his purpose remains to help facilitate a people-centric modernisation of the mining industry. Outside of work, Sietse always looks for opportunities to make a difference. Sietse also loves spending time with his 9-year-old son.

Sifiso Siwela is a SACNASP-registered professional geologist who specialises in exploration, mineral project valuations, Mineral Resource estimation and reviews as well as integrated due diligence reviews. He has some 20 years’ consulting experience in various commodities including battery metals, base metals, precious metals, precious stones and industrial minerals.
Prior to joining ERM, he was Senior Manager at Deloitte Technical Mining Advisory and responsible for managing global multi-disciplinary projects across mine value chain from strategic exploration planning, target generation, technical reviews, mine audits to mineral strategy design.
He is the current Chairperson of the SAMCODES Standards Committee that develops, maintains, administers, ensure compliance with and promotes the SAMREC, SAMVAL and SAMOG reporting codes. He is also a Fellow and Past President of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA). He is also a member of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) and the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). He has also lectured on compliance and reporting in the extractives industry at Wits University, as well as geochemistry at Rhodes University. His expertise has been recognised though publications and speaking at various conferences.

Thokozani Majozi is the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and a professor in the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at Wits University. He holds a National Chair in Sustainable Process Engineering. Majozi was a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in the United Kingdom where he completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering (Process Integration). He serves in the editorial boards of various chemical engineering journals, including the Journal of Cleaner Production and Process Safety and Environmental Performance Journal. A member of various scientific academies, including African Academy of Sciences and Academy of Sciences of South Africa. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK, and the Chairperson of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the largest public sector research institution on the African continent. He has received numerous awards for his research including the British Association Medal (Silver), the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers Bill Neal-May Gold Medal and recently the National Order of Mapungubwe bestowed on him by President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. Majozi is author and co-author of more than 200 scientific publications, including 4 books in Chemical Process Integration.

Tiyane Hobyane is a Technical Services Expert with over ten years of experience in the mining sector. Currently, as a Business Development Manager for SITECH SA, he is responsible for identifying market opportunities, developing growth strategies, and expanding client relationships. He holds a bachelor's degree in Mineral Resource Management and a National Diploma in Mine Surveying from the University of Johannesburg, which reinforce his expertise in the industry.

Vishaylin has half a decade in strategy and innovation consulting. He has been instrumental in several corporate strategy projects spanning various sectors, including mining, entrepreneurship, energy, maritime, and innovation. His expertise focuses on the integration and intersection of human processes with business structures, a passion born from his academic background. His diverse knowledge is bolstered by specialised studies in strategic thinking, utilising behavioural science and neurostrategy. While at RIIS, Vishaylin has supported the research and development of an innovation ecosystem for the South African energy and marine industry. He has led the development of a digital leadership competency assessment tool for the South African gold and platinum group metals mining sector.

Wessel Botha is a senior researcher at Enterprises University of Pretoria. He has conducted research for both private and government institutions within the following industries: Mining, Construction, Renewable Energy, Motor Industry, Manufacturing and Production (various), Water Services, Services (Management, Delivery, Financial) and Forestry. He has taken a personal interest in investigating and understanding the impact that technology has on people and the identification of future skills requirements. He has also operated within the educational and regulatory structures by developing Sector Skills Plans for various SETAs, developing 5-year strategies and conducting large scale skills audits. His core skill is described as developing models from academic research and applying this to real-world solutions.